Scintigraphic findings in a Brodie's abscess

Abstract

A 9-year-old girl had a 6-month history of left hip pain. Radiographs of the left hip showed a metaphyseal osteolytic lesion with sclerotic borders in the femoral neck. Tc-99m MDP bone imaging and a Ga-67 scan showed focal areas of increased activity in the left femoral neck. These areas of increased uptake corresponded to a lytic area on x-rays, which was due to a Brodie's abscess. The combination of Tc-99m MDP bone and Ga-67 imaging has been widely used in the confirmation of bone infection, increasing the accuracy in the diagnosis of osteomyelitis. However, nuclear scintigraphy has not been previously reported in the confirmation of a Brodie's abscess.